Last update - 00:00 17/12/2006
Seven killed, 15 injured in six major weekend accidents
By Roni Singer-Heruti and Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent
Seven people were killed in six traffic accidents over the weekend. Another 15 were injured, seven of them seriously.
Two young women were killed in an accident near the Ashdod junction. Three people were killed in an accident near Be'er Sheva, and an additional person was killed in an accident near the southern town of Yeruham. A 22-year-old man from Petah Tikva was also killed when his car crashed into a road barrier.
The first accident occurred on Thursday night on Road 42, between Yavne and the Ashdod junction, when a southbound Ford vehicle swerved from its lane and crashed head-on with a Fiat Punto coming from the opposite direction. Two of the passengers in the Fiat, both 25, were killed. The remaining three passengers, who are siblings, were critically wounded.
Magen David Adom paramedics arrived at the scene after receiving reports of trapped passengers.
The Ford driver, an Ashkelon resident of 40, was lightly injured and is in police custody, on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Yigal Buskila, 30, of Yeroham, was also killed at around 3:30 A.M. Friday, while driving on Road 204 from Dimona to Yeroham. He crossed the separation line and crashed into a van coming from the opposite direction. The other driver was moderately injured.
Also that night, Salame Ghama, 46, and Lama Tarbin, 24, of Segev Shalom in the Negev, were killed when their jeep, traveling on Road 40, between Re'em Farms and Nokdim junction, near Be'er Sheva, swerved and crashed into a minivan coming in the opposite direction. The jeep then crashed into another vehicle, whose driver was also killed. The name of the third driver has not been released. The minivan's driver was lightly injured.
Shahar Blas, 22, was killed late Thursday night while driving on Harav Malcha Street in Petah Tikva. He apparently lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a separation barrier, overturning his car. He was taken to Beilinson hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
On Friday morning, a 10-year-old girl was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident in Ramle. At about 7:30 A.M., the child, who was on her way to school, crossed Vilna street at the pedestrian crossing, when she was hit by a passing bus. The bus did not stop, and drove away, while the child was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Police combed the area in search of the bus driver to no avail.
One person was critically injured, two moderately injured and four lightly injured in a car crash Saturday night night on Road 651 between Pal Yam junction and Pardes-Hannah. The injured persons were taken to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera.
Additionally, over the weekend the police arrested a man they suspect of causing the death of a soldier in a hit-and-run accident last week near Zerifin. The soldier was killed late at night walking along the shoulder of the road, when he was hit by a passing car that did not stop. The police arrested a Lod resident, 22, who has denied having anything to do with the accident